Here's the article I wrote for the November issue of Vogue Girl Korea, who I seriously must thank for all the support. Looking at these photos again is really making me miss New York.
Thanks Josh for the scans ;)
ETA the article..I tried my best to omit all of my California-isms that I had a feeling wouldn't translate well into Korean:
Though I spend most of my days hanging out at the beach and finding new ways to get into trouble with my friends, I have always had a love of fashion that no one I knew could even come close to understanding. I started Fashiontoast less than a year ago on a whim, as a way to release my ideas and share random photographs of my life, so when I got an email from Erin's assistant saying that Erin was a fan of my style and they loved what I was doing, it was as surprising as it was exciting that something so simple as a blog could reach someone who I can most simply describe as one of my biggest inspirations.
I had read that she was collaborating with surf/skate company RVCA to create a line that would fuse the beachy grunge glamour of Southern California with the downtown cool of New York city, which sounded like the idealized version of how I would describe my style - you can only imagine how excited I was when they requested my address so that they could send me samples from it..more than half a year before it was going to be in stores! When I received the package, I breathlessly removed item after item, and it became clear that Erin had put a very personal touch on every last piece. What struck the most was the cuts and silhouettes, from a loosely draping tank top with a high rise in the back and a body hugging miniskirt with a line of studs down the center to a fitted motorcycle vest and perfect-for-layering jeweled bustier. I was in love with every last design - they're the kind of pieces that you just reach for over and over again because you don't want to wear anything else.
When Erin invited me to the preview for the line in New York during fashion week, I knew I needed to make it out there. What better reason could there be to make an unplanned trip to my favorite city? My boyfriend and I booked tickets to fly out for a week, and on our first day, barely even settled into our hotel, we took a cab in the oppressively humid heat to Erin's apartment. We rang the doorbell and were beckoned into a scene that was at once calm but full of creative energy. Erin came over and introduced herself and could not possibly have been more down to earth, funny, and, obviously, insanely beautiful. She made sure to make us feel at home, and showed me the rest of the collection that was to debut in mere hours, alongside her gorgeous jewelry line, Lowluv. Between the mayhem of styling the models, hair and makeup, and photographs and videos being taken, there was definitely a lot going on. Soon enough, everyone was all set and as my boyfriend and one of Erin's friends we had been talking to told me we were going to walk over to the party, Erin's mother interjected and told me there was no way I was going to walk that many blocks in the heels I was in (just the usual 4.5" footwear). She then kindly offered to share her cab with me, which is how I ended up pulling up to the party with Erin's mother herself.
The preview party was amazing - the models looked so relaxed, and the overall downtown vibe of the collection translated perfectly. The music, the people, and the fashion came together to create such a cool atmosphere, and I had the chance to meet people from Mickey Avalon to Scott Schuman, along with so many people from RVCA that I had previously only had email relationships with and I can now count among my good friends. My memory of the night gets a little hazy from then on - all I know is we ended up at a cool little bar down a dark alley and a lot of stairs.
We had the entire next day to recover and explore around the city a bit, but all I could think about was how excited I was to go to the Alexander Wang show the next day. We all know that Erin and Alexander are extremely good friends, and that her styling work for his fall collection captured the kind of grungy effortless cool that we all want our wardrobes to mirror..and Erin had managed to get me a second row ticket! Saturday proved to be a rainy mess, but we all headed down to Chelsea with our umbrellas. I was lucky enough to run into the charming Scott again, who took my photo for style.com before I headed into the crowd. After making my way through and posing for what seemed like a million photographers, I found my seat behind Erin and the show started. Right off the bat, the energy of the girls in their athletic and grungy looks filled the room, each one stomping down the runway in Alex's fierce black platform heels embellished with chains and fringe that I'm going to be scrambling to buy as soon as they're available in the spring. Key looks were a black mesh dress with squiggly detailing, a subtly draped white minidress, destroyed knitwear, and a gray sweatshirt top paired with the skinniest of leather trousers. What I love most about the collection as a whole is how sexy it is while keeping the silhouettes simple and comfortable for wearing in real life.
The afterparty was just as insane and fun as you would imagine it to be, with a performance by surprise special guest Foxy Brown, who herself was in a hot pink custom-made Alexander Wang design. My boyfriend and I mingled and danced all night in one of the most well dressed crowds I've ever seen.I definitely count myself very lucky to have been able to have these experiences - much love to the one and only Erin.
